Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Comparison of the effect of ferrous sulfate and ferrous gluconate on prophylaxis of iron deficiency in toddlers 6-24 months old: A randomized clinical trial

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Vahid Falahati
. Ali Ghasemi 1
. Kazem Ghaffari 2
. Aziz Eghbali 3
. Sanaz Khodabakhshi
. Amir Almasi‑Hashiani 4
. Bahman Sadeghi‑Sedeh 5
. Mostafa Shanbehzadeh 6

1 Department of Biochemistry and Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran

2 Department of Basic and Laboratory Sciences, Khomein University of Medical Sciences, Khomein, Iran

3 Clinical Research Development Center of Aliasghar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Epidemiology, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran

5 Department of Social Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran

6 Department of Health Information Technology, Faculty of Paramedical, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is one of the most common anemias, especially in
children 4–23 months. Therefore, prophylaxis is necessary to improve iron status as well as reduce
IDA in Toddlers. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of daily supplementation with
ferrous gluconate (FG) and ferrous sulfate (FS) on iron status in toddlers.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 120 healthy toddlers were divided randomly into 2 groups at
the Amir‑Kabir Hospital, Arak, Iran and received FS and FG from March 2020 to December 2020. Iron
status was evaluated at baseline and after 6 months of supplementation. The statistical significance
of the differences in iron status between FS and FG groups was calculated using Student’s t‑test
and the Pearson’ s Chi‑square test for qualitative variables. SPSS software (version 16, Chicago,
IL, USA) was used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: Comparison of iron status of FS and FG groups toddlers at baseline and after 6 months
of supplementation showed that there was a significant difference in hemoglobin (Hb) (10.46 vs.
12.45, P = 0.001) and ferritin level (28.08 vs. 59.63, P = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Although prophylaxis with FG led to a higher Hb and ferritin levels, our study
recommended that both FG and FS supplements were effective for prophylactic use in the
prevention of IDA. However, FG was more effective than FS because FG group that received FG
supplementation indicated a higher Hb and ferritin levels in comparison to the FS group that received
FS supplementation.

Keywords

Anemia
ferrous gluconate
ferrous sulfate
iron
iron deficiencies
prophylaxis
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 12, Issue 10
November 2022
Pages 1-7

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